Preserving the First Ward

April 23, 2014 |Photos by James Nielsen / Houston Chronicle

Dominic Yap, a developer who is buying old homes in the First Ward but remodeling them instead of tearing them down.

James Nielsen/Houston Chronicle

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Dominic Yap, a developer who is buying old homes in the First Ward but remodeling them instead of tearing them down, looks out the window of a home he purchased from Gloria Perez and remodeled Friday, April 4, 2014, in Houston. Perez sold the house to Yap, instead of another developer, because she didn't want the home torn down.

James Nielsen/Houston Chronicle

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Dominic Yap, a developer who is buying old homes in the First Ward but remodeling them instead of tearing them down, looks out the window of a home he purchased from Gloria Perez and remodeled Friday, April 4, 2014, in Houston. Perez sold the house to Yap, instead of another developer, because she didn't want the home torn down.